WwW launches a new global forum for Peace and Nonviolence

22 Mar 2011

Over a year has passed since the end of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence and the Humanist Organisation, World without Wars and Violence (WwW), is preparing itself to launch a new global campaign to build on the success of the March as another element in a string of increasingly large actions to take place since its foundation in 1995.

At the open meeting of the organisation’s members in the Toledo Park of Study and Reflection in Spain on the 12th of March a new action plan was announced.

Between the 7th and 13th of November 2011 a week of activities will take place around the world. All kinds of activities that have to do with peace and nonviolence will be promoted; marches, concerts, exhibitions, workshops, debates, etc and also a series of polycentric, decentralised forums will be organised by WwW base teams.

When speaking about the Forum Rafa de la Rubia said, “With this Forum for Peace and Nonviolence we will build on the work of the World March, but whereas the March took 3 months, this will take just one week.”

“What we did uniquely in the World March was to join the subjects of Peace and Nonviolence together and take it into the World. Insofar as the aim of the World March to eradicate nuclear weapons goes, we failed, but in terms of the awareness we created in the world, we believe that it is so great it is beyond measure. You just had to see the number of young people who joined in events that were held to know it was worth while.”

“We will see how we can build the forum on this awareness and take it forward into other events in 2012.”

The International Spokesperson for World without Wars, Tony Robinson, said, “We needed to do something new, something that everyone can get involved with, and something that can make all organisations involved with peace and nonviolence grow and help in publicising our proposals. We won’t do this alone. This proposal is open to everyone. Wherever World without Wars base teams currently exist we will promote forums, where they don’t currently exist we will see how to involve new activists, and where other organisations wish to join in, we will allow them complete freedom to contribute in whatever way they can.”

Kostas Klokas from Greece informed those in the meeting of a key moment that can take place during this week in November. “We will issue a worldwide call to stop for 11 seconds on the 11th of November 2011, in other words 11/11/11, and reflect about the theme of nonviolence at a personal and social level. The idea is that in the human process great steps and great discoveries don’t need more than 11 seconds to be imagined (for example: to fly, to go to the moon, to stop slavery). We are speaking about illuminated moments in the human process at a social level and also illuminated moments that each individual registers at a personal level.”

As Rafael de la Rubia, spokesperson for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, said on the 2nd of January 2010 in the foothills of Mount Aconcagua. “The World March does not stop here. Numerous projects have opened up that we must continue. This March will not stop until we achieve the elimination of wars and the installation of a culture of nonviolence.”